Correlative Constructions in Indonesian

Konstruksi Korelatif

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In Brief

Indonesian correlative constructions use two matching connectors to present two ideas as a balanced pair. The four central patterns are semakin...semakin (“the more...the more”), baik...maupun (“both...and”), bukan hanya...tetapi juga (“not only...but also”), and entah...entah (“whether...or”). Keep the material after each half grammatically parallel whenever possible.

Overview

A correlative construction is a paired structure: its first connector introduces one element, and its partner introduces a second, related element. The paired elements may be words, phrases, or full clauses (groups of words that express an event or state). These structures let you express linked change, include two alternatives, add an emphatic second point, or leave a choice unresolved.

At B2, the challenge is not memorising the individual words. It is building balanced sentences in which each half has the same grammatical job. Compare baik guru maupun siswa (“both teachers and students”), where two nouns are paired, with baik membaca maupun menulis (“both reading and writing”), where two verbs are paired. A sentence may remain understandable without this symmetry, but it often sounds clumsy or leaves the reader unsure what is being contrasted.

English has close equivalents for all four core patterns, which gives English-speaking learners a useful starting point. However, English word order should not be copied mechanically. Indonesian does not require do, be, or an infinitive marker like to, and it often omits information that is clear from context. Learn the position of each Indonesian connector in relation to the exact elements being paired.

How It Works

Semakin...semakin: two linked changes

Use semakin X, semakin Y when a change in X accompanies or influences a change in Y. Both halves usually describe a scale: more, less, faster, stronger, later, or another quality that can change by degree.

Pattern	Meaning	Example
semakin + quality, semakin + quality	the more X, the more Y	Semakin lama, semakin sulit.
semakin + clause, semakin + clause	the more X happens, the more Y happens	Semakin sering berlatih, semakin cepat kamu maju.
noun + semakin + predicate	something becomes increasingly X	Harga rumah semakin mahal.

A predicate is the part that says something about the subject. In Indonesian, it can be an adjective such as sulit (“difficult”), so no equivalent of English become or be is required: semakin sulit means “increasingly difficult” or “the more difficult.”

The paired construction often omits repeated subjects when they are obvious:

Semakin banyak membaca, semakin luas wawasannya. — “The more one reads, the broader one’s knowledge becomes.”
Semakin dia membantah, semakin saya curiga. — “The more he/she denied it, the more suspicious I became.”

A comma between the two halves is helpful, especially when they are clauses. In formal prose, complete and clearly balanced clauses are preferable. Makin...makin and kian...kian are important variants; see Usage Notes below.

Baik...maupun: including both elements

Use baik A maupun B to state explicitly that A and B are both included. It commonly pairs nouns, adjective phrases, verbs, or longer phrases.

Paired unit	Pattern	Example
nouns	baik A maupun B	baik anak-anak maupun orang dewasa
adjectives	baik A maupun B	baik murah maupun tahan lama
verbs	baik A maupun B	baik membaca maupun menulis
prepositional phrases	baik phrase A maupun phrase B	baik di kantor maupun di rumah
clauses	baik clause A maupun clause B	baik dia setuju maupun dia menolak

In English, both may appear directly before a plural subject. Indonesian baik instead marks the first of two coordinated elements, while maupun marks the second. Do not confuse this baik with the adjective baik, meaning “good” or “well”; its paired partner makes its function clear.

Baik...maupun normally presents two possibilities as jointly valid. It is therefore different from atau (“or”), which offers alternatives without necessarily including both:

Anda dapat membayar dengan kartu atau tunai. — You can pay by card or cash; these are alternatives.
Kami menerima pembayaran baik dengan kartu maupun secara tunai. — We accept both payment methods.

Bukan hanya...tetapi juga: adding an emphatic second point

Use bukan hanya A, tetapi juga B for “not only A, but also B.” The speaker confirms A and adds B as noteworthy, surprising, or stronger information.

Variant	Typical use
bukan hanya...tetapi juga	neutral to formal; useful in careful writing
tidak hanya...tetapi juga	very common, especially when the paired material concerns actions or descriptions
bukan cuma...tapi juga	conversational
tak hanya...namun juga	concise or more literary/formal

Indonesian usage allows both bukan hanya and tidak hanya in many contexts. As a practical guide, bukan normally negates nouns or identities, while tidak normally negates verbs and adjectives. In this fixed correlative construction, however, actual usage overlaps considerably. Tidak hanya often feels natural before verbs or adjective predicates, while bukan hanya is broadly established and is not restricted to nouns.

The second connector may be tetapi juga, tapi juga, or namun juga, depending on register. In polished writing, retain both tetapi/namun and juga unless there is a deliberate stylistic reason to shorten the pair.

Parallel placement matters:

Dia tidak hanya menulis laporan, tetapi juga mempresentasikannya.
Two verbs are paired: writing and presenting.
Dia berbicara bukan hanya dengan manajer, tetapi juga dengan para staf.
Two prepositional phrases beginning with dengan are paired.

Entah...entah: unresolved alternatives

Use entah A entah B when the speaker does not know, cannot tell, or does not consider it important which alternative is true. Depending on context, English translations include “whether A or B,” “either A or B,” or “I don’t know if A or B.”

Pattern	Example	Sense
entah A entah B	entah benar entah salah	whether true or false
entah clause A entah clause B	entah dia lupa entah dia sengaja diam	whether he/she forgot or deliberately stayed silent
entah A atau B	entah Senin atau Selasa	whether Monday or Tuesday
entah + question word	entah kapan	who knows when / at some unknown time

The fully repeated entah...entah gives both alternatives equal rhetorical weight. Entah...atau... is also widespread and often less emphatic. Unlike baik...maupun, this construction does not include both choices; it marks uncertainty about which choice applies.

Entah can also stand before a question word: entah siapa (“who knows who”), entah mengapa (“for some unknown reason”), and entah bagaimana (“somehow” or “who knows how”). These are related uses, though they are not always paired constructions.

Keep the two halves parallel

Parallelism means giving coordinated ideas a similar grammatical shape. It makes long Indonesian sentences easier to process.

Less balanced	Better balanced	Reason
baik di sekolah maupun keluarga	baik di sekolah maupun di keluarga	Both halves are di phrases.
tidak hanya cerdas, tetapi juga bekerja keras	tidak hanya cerdas, tetapi juga rajin	Both halves are adjectives.
entah pergi ke Jakarta entah di rumah	entah pergi ke Jakarta entah tinggal di rumah	Both alternatives are verb phrases.

Perfect repetition is not an absolute law. Longer sentences sometimes coordinate different-sized clauses. The key is that readers should immediately recognise what A and B are.

Examples in Context

Indonesian	English	Note
Semakin sering kita berbicara, semakin lancar bahasa Indonesia kita.	The more often we speak, the more fluent our Indonesian becomes.	Two linked developments
Semakin malam, jalanan semakin sepi.	The later it gets, the quieter the streets become.	semakin appears inside the second clause
Semakin banyak pilihan, semakin sulit mengambil keputusan.	The more choices there are, the harder it is to make a decision.	A noun phrase follows the first semakin
Baik karyawan baru maupun karyawan lama wajib mengikuti pelatihan.	Both new and long-serving employees must attend the training.	Two noun phrases share one predicate
Aplikasi ini dapat digunakan baik di ponsel maupun di komputer.	This app can be used both on a phone and on a computer.	Balanced di phrases
Dia mampu berkomunikasi baik secara lisan maupun tertulis.	She can communicate both orally and in writing.	Common formal phrasing
Restoran itu bukan hanya murah, tetapi juga bersih.	The restaurant is not only inexpensive but also clean.	Two adjectives
Kebijakan baru itu tidak hanya mengurangi biaya, tetapi juga mempercepat pelayanan.	The new policy not only reduces costs but also speeds up service.	Two verb phrases
Mereka mengundang bukan hanya para peneliti, tetapi juga warga setempat.	They invited not only the researchers but also local residents.	Two noun phrases
Entah hujan entah panas, dia tetap bersepeda ke kantor.	Whether it rains or it is hot, he still cycles to work.	The outcome is unchanged
Saya tidak tahu entah dia belum membaca pesannya entah dia memilih untuk tidak menjawab.	I don’t know whether she has not read the message yet or has chosen not to reply.	Two full alternatives
Entah besok atau lusa, paket itu seharusnya tiba.	Whether tomorrow or the day after, the package should arrive.	Common entah...atau variant
Makin lama kami menunggu, makin tidak sabar anak-anak itu.	The longer we waited, the more impatient the children became.	Conversational makin...makin
Kian tinggi jabatannya, kian besar pula tanggung jawabnya.	The higher the position, the greater the responsibility.	Formal kian with emphatic pula

Common Mistakes

Mixing inclusion and alternatives

Wrong: Baik teh atau kopi tersedia.
Right: Baik teh maupun kopi tersedia.
Why: Baik...maupun explicitly includes both tea and coffee. Use atau alone when you simply mean “tea or coffee.” Although mixed forms occur in casual usage, the standard pair is the safest choice in careful speech and writing.

Leaving the second change unmarked

Wrong: Semakin banyak berlatih, pengucapan lebih baik.
Right: Semakin banyak berlatih, pengucapan semakin baik.
Why: In the core “the more...the more” pattern, repeat semakin to show that both qualities change together. Lebih baik means “better,” but does not by itself complete the paired pattern.

Pairing unlike structures unnecessarily

Wrong: Dia tidak hanya ramah, tetapi juga membantu kami dengan cepat.
Right: Dia tidak hanya ramah, tetapi juga sangat sigap.
Also right: Dia tidak hanya menyambut kami dengan ramah, tetapi juga membantu kami dengan cepat.
Why: The first correction pairs two adjectives; the second pairs two verb phrases. The original is understandable, but a balanced form is clearer and more polished.

Treating entah...entah as “both...and”

Wrong: Dia menguasai entah bahasa Indonesia entah bahasa Inggris. (intended: “She knows both languages.”)
Right: Dia menguasai baik bahasa Indonesia maupun bahasa Inggris.
Why: Entah...entah signals uncertainty about which alternative is true. It does not say that both are true.

Translating every English support word

Wrong: Semakin cuaca adalah panas, semakin saya adalah lelah.
Right: Semakin panas cuacanya, semakin lelah saya.
Why: Indonesian adjective predicates do not need an equivalent of English is. Build the Indonesian pattern directly instead of translating word by word.

Omitting juga in careful writing

Less complete: Bukan hanya mahal, tetapi sulit ditemukan.
Preferred: Bukan hanya mahal, tetapi juga sulit ditemukan.
Why: The shorter sentence can be understood, but juga clearly completes the expected pair and produces a more controlled written style.

Usage Notes

Semakin is neutral and works well in speech and writing. Makin is extremely common in everyday speech and informal prose. Kian often sounds more literary, rhetorical, or formal: kian hari kian ramai (“busier with each passing day”). The two positions can occasionally use different variants, but matching them usually gives the cleanest rhythm.

Tetapi is the full neutral-to-formal form of “but”; tapi is its conversational counterpart. Namun is common in formal writing and often links larger statements. Within this correlative frame, tidak hanya...tetapi juga and bukan hanya...tetapi juga are reliable choices for essays and presentations. In conversation, nggak cuma...tapi juga may be heard, but nggak is informal and should not be transferred to formal writing.

Indonesian often places focus-sensitive words directly before the material they highlight. Compare:

Bukan hanya Rina yang datang, tetapi juga Budi. — Not only Rina came; Budi did too. The focus is the people.
Rina bukan hanya datang, tetapi juga membantu. — Rina not only came but also helped. The focus is the actions.

Punctuation depends on sentence length. A comma is useful between two substantial halves of semakin...semakin and bukan hanya...tetapi juga. Very short paired phrases usually need no comma: baik pagi maupun malam. Punctuation supports readability; it does not change the underlying relationship.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Correlative pairs can organise an entire argument, not just two words. In formal Indonesian, a writer may use bukan hanya...tetapi juga across long clauses to signal that the second claim expands the first. When doing this, repeat prepositions or other grammatical markers if their omission could blur the structure.

The particle pula (“also,” “in turn”) may reinforce the second half, especially in measured or formal prose:

Semakin besar kekuasaan seseorang, semakin besar pula tanggung jawabnya. — The greater a person’s power, the greater their responsibility.
Bukan hanya kualitasnya yang meningkat, harganya pun naik. — Not only did its quality improve; its price rose too.

The second example shows that writers do not always preserve the textbook pair literally. The particle pun can carry the additive meaning in the second clause. Recognise such variation, but use the complete core patterns when you need a dependable model.

Several related pairs extend the same principle of balance:

Pair	Meaning	Example
jangankan A, B pun...	let alone A; even B...	Jangankan membeli rumah, menyewa kamar pun sulit.
tidak...tidak pula...	neither...nor...	Dia tidak menelepon, tidak pula mengirim pesan.
antara A dan B	between A and B	antara kebutuhan dan keinginan

These are not interchangeable with the four core constructions. In particular, jangankan presents a scale and normally mentions the more surprising or difficult case first, while baik...maupun simply includes two items.

Correlative sentences also interact with information structure—the way a speaker arranges familiar and important information. Putting a shared predicate after both paired subjects avoids repetition: Baik pemerintah maupun masyarakat memiliki tanggung jawab. Repeating a predicate can instead create contrast or rhetorical force. At an advanced level, choose between economy and repetition according to what deserves emphasis.

Practice Tips

Build parallel pairs. Choose one noun, adjective, verb, and prepositional phrase, then make a baik...maupun and a bukan hanya...tetapi juga sentence from each category. Underline the paired elements to check that they have the same shape.
Track real change. Describe linked changes in your routine with semakin...semakin: the more you practise, the easier something becomes. Then retell the sentences aloud using makin...makin so both variants become familiar.
Sort by meaning. When reading Indonesian news or listening to interviews, collect examples under four labels: linked change, inclusion, emphatic addition, and uncertainty. Identifying the relationship is more valuable than memorising an isolated connector.